Public wants home care strengthened

By DAVID ROLF and KATHY COSTER, HOME-CARE ADVOCATES

Updated
10:00 pm PST, Thursday, December 13, 2001

The public has spoken, but will politicians listen?

On Nov. 6, Washington's citizens voted overwhelmingly to invest in quality home care for seniors and people with disabilities. Sixty-three percent of voters statewide said yes to Initiative 775, the Quality Home Care Initiative. Respecting the independence and dignity of people with disabilities and seniors is clearly a priority for our citizens.

Now we must make sure that it's a priority for our elected officials.

Tucked away in the administration's proposed budget cuts for next year is almost $110 million in cuts to home-care services -- the largest proposed cut to any program in the state. These cuts would reduce or eliminate home-care services for thousands of vulnerable elderly residents and would jeopardize the independence of people with disabilities who receive assistance that allows them to participate in community life and hold down jobs

But in addition to being clearly out of touch with the public's priorities, the cuts to home-care services are bad policy and financially foolish.

If you deny home-care services to seniors and people with disabilities, where will they go? People who use home-care services cannot live alone. Many can't get out of bed, or bathe, or dress themselves without help. While a small percentage may be able to find family members who can care for them without compensation, the vast majority will inevitably end up in nursing homes or other institutions. And by the administration's own estimate, nursing home-care costs three to four times more than in-home care.

"These cuts will have a severe impact on the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities," according to Cory Rosen, a local home-care consumer and disability activist. "Taking away a home-care worker is often like taking away someone's hands and feet."

Washington state's policy has been to provide community-based services, so that people with disabilities can choose where they want to live. The U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision affirmed the right for people with disabilities to live in the least restrictive setting possible. We're concerned that these budget cuts will mean a giant step backward.

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These cuts will only exacerbate the growing crisis in long-term care. A recent study by the University of Washington's Dan Evans School of Public Policy projects that the number of seniors and people with disabilities seeking in-home care will increase more than 400 percent over the next 30 years, from 20,000 today to almost 90,000 by 2030.

But it is already difficult for consumers and their family members to find qualified caregivers. Home-care workers are paid under $8/hour with few benefits (no vacation, no sick days, no retirement, no workers compensation) and little training.

The UW study suggests that unless something is done now to increase the supply of caregivers, within eight years, seniors and people with disabilities could begin facing waiting lists of up to four months to find a caregiver.

Do you know a lot of people who could take off work for four months to care for their aging parents while they wait for a caregiver to become available? Do you think it is fair to force people with disabilities to remain institutionalized against their will because there are no community-based options available?

It is almost criminal that we pay zookeepers more money to care for animals than we pay home- care workers to care for seniors and people with disabilities. The proposed cuts will only further reduce hours and take-home pay for caregivers, many of whom already live well below the poverty line. This work is not glamorous -- it often involves such personal tasks as bathing, dressing and toileting -- but it is essential to helping people live in their own homes. These workers and the consumers they serve deserve better.

In order for Washington state to meet the growing demand for in-home care and avoid a major human and financial long-term care crisis, we need to make a real commitment to fully funding home-care services and paying caregivers the living wage and good benefits they deserve.

We urge the governor and legislators to heed the public's overwhelming support for quality home care and respect and dignity for home-care workers and consumers.